Sudan peace deal on shaky ground

09 Dec 2009 06:16 (South Africa)

Sudan’s 2005 peace deal, which ended a two-decade civil war between the north and south of the country, has lurched further into crisis. The deal is supposed to bring democratic reforms ahead of a 2010 national election, which sets the stage for a referendum over whether the oil-rich south should secede. As would be expected, there is much dispute over who can participate in the referendum. This week, protesters set fire to an office of the ruling National Congress Party in a southern Sudan town after three senior members of south Sudan's main political party were arrested in the capital, Khartoum. They were later freed. One of the arrested politicians, Pagan Amum, told the BBC that President Omar al-Bashir's NCP party wanted to stop the south's bid for independence. Former rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, of which Amum is secretary general, joined the government as junior partners after the peace deal. It’s been a rollercoaster since then.
Read more: BBC, Sudan Tribune

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